How to Survive the Zombie Apocalypse

Many people proudly boast of their preparations for catastrophic emergency scenarios, such as nuclear war, plague, or – tangentially related – a zombie apocalypse. Yet, it is a safe wager that the majority of these individuals do not really believe they will experience these events in their lifetime, nor have they mentally prepared themselves for their aftermath. When the zombie apocalypse does happen, your mental state will factor just as heavily on your survival as will your material preparedness.

By keeping a bug out bag handy for every member of your family, you not only have room to pack clothing and accessories for every individual, but you also increase your carrying capacity for basic survival gear, and increase your chance to survive zombie apocalypse. Redundancy is important to mitigate the effects of forgotten bags, as storing several of the most critical items (knives, medical supplies, fire starters, water purifiers, flashlights, weapons, and much more) in multiple packs ensures that you will not lose access to these supplies if one or two zombie survival packs are left behind (or their wearer is brought down by the enemy).

Day 1: This day will be pure entropy. The horrific realization of what has happened will alternately drive the vast majority of us to despair, madness, or some combination of the two possibly leading to an incurable vegetative state. All-out war against an enemy that has risen from death for purely cannibalistic purposes will strain the resolve of all but the hardiest Americans. Because there is simply no telling what situations you will face in the weeks, months, or even years following a zombie uprising, your survival preparations should be undertaken primarily with the following objective: surviving Day 1.

If you can survive the earliest stages of the apocalypse and escape the associated carnage, you should be relatively well situated to weather the remainder of the battle. Your best choice will be to grab whatever supplies you have squirreled away for this day in your zombie survival pack and flee the city and surrounding suburban areas immediately. Only by reaching a place of relative (if only temporary) safety will you be afforded the opportunity to establish a long term survival plan and come to terms with what has happened. Then you can make a more informed decision to either hunker down and weather the storm, or bug-out in search of a safer and much more viable haven.